Crime & Safety

Police Blotter: Fight Erupts Before Semi-Pro Football Game at Seaholm

The following information was supplied by the Birmingham Police Department. Where arrests or charges are mentioned, it does not indicate a conviction.

Following is a roundup of recent Birmingham Police reports:

Football players, coaches brawl before semi-pro game

Detectives are investigating a fight between members of the Southern Michigan Timberwolves and Michigan Gators, both semi-professional football teams, at the football field.

According to police reports, both teams were scheduled to play at the high school Saturday evening. After the traditional team prayer, players from both teams began arguing and shoving each other on the field. Reports state that managers and coaches from both teams interceded, separating the players. However, the coaches then began to argue, going to "chest to chest," witnesses reported to police.

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At that point, witnesses disagree as to what happened next. One of the coaches for the Timberwolves was struck in the groin area by either another player or a member of the Gators coaching staff, police say. The Timberwolves coach then struck a Gators coach in the face, according to the report.

The fight broke up when police arrived on the scene. The Timberwolves went on to defeat the Gators 26-20 that evening.

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Boyfriend drinks bottle of vodka, takes car

Police arrested a man for drunken driving Monday afternoon near Southfield Road and Northlawn Boulevard. According to police reports, a woman reported around 1:15 p.m. that her boyfriend — who was intoxicated, she said, having drunk a bottle of vodka that morning — had taken her car.

While an officer was talking the woman, they both observed the car in question driving southbound on Southfield, then turning west onto Northlawn. The car struck the curb and drove over the grassy area, reports state. The officer pulled over the driver in a small condo parking lot at the corner of Northlawn and Southfield, and after talking with him, the officer reported he believed the man was intoxicated.

While attempting to search the man for identification, police reports say the man then became combative with the officer, who had to use a taser to control him. The man was taken into custody. Arraignment in 48th District Court is pending blood test results from the Michigan State Police Crime Lab.

Police believe Rail District vandalism connected

Birmingham Police believe several acts of vandalism in the Rail District over the weekend to be the work of one or more suspects. According to police reports, five plant pots and two ornamental benches in front of the were smashed early Saturday morning. In addition, a granite brick was thrown through the front window of on Cole Street during the same time frame, between 12:30-6:30 a.m. Police believe the two incidents are connected and are investigating.

If you have any tips, you can contact the at 248-530-1889. For questions about this blotter, email Laura.Houser@patch.com.


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